


I Guess You're Pretty Capable

by irishbandlover23



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-21
Updated: 2016-07-21
Packaged: 2018-07-25 19:14:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,548
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7544608
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/irishbandlover23/pseuds/irishbandlover23
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tsukishima Kei likes to think that he is rarely wrong about people. But, he might have to rethink that bit when he meets Yachi Hitoka.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I Guess You're Pretty Capable

**Author's Note:**

  * For [julwine](https://archiveofourown.org/users/julwine/gifts).



> This is for my fellow Haikyuu!! Tsukishima friend who had some amazing prompts. This was fun to write, so thanks for the prompts! I tried to blend a bit of two, and this is what I have! I hope you guys read and enjoy!

_ “Brother’s favorite things are volleyball and girls,” he mumbled. _

_ A soft, melodious, laugh. “Yes, well. Volleyball you can understand, and girls…” he ruffled Tsukishima’s hair. “You’ll understand in a couple of years.” _

_ A frantic headshake. “No way! Girls are gross! They can’t understand volleyball.” _

_ Akiteru guffawed. “Some will. In any case, us Tsukishima brothers will be  extremely popular with the ladies.” _

_ Tsukishima glowered. “ _ I _ won’t be.” _

_ Akiteru pinched his brother’s cheeks. “You’re so cute!” _

_ Tsukishima pouted and crossed his arms. “I have Yamaguchi anyways.” _

_ “Ehhh? Just you wait; when you’re in high school, I’ll be here telling you, I told you so!”  _

_ “You’re so stupid, brother.” _

* * *

 

Tsukishima was greeted with an incredulous, yet amazed, “You turned down another girl today?” 

Tsukishima’s scowl was enough of an answer.

Yamaguchi remarked, “You’re so popular, Tsukki!” 

“Shut up, Yamaguchi.”

“Sorry, Tsukki!” Yamaguchi replied as he chuckled.

Tsukishima couldn’t help but recall his brother’s words with a grimace. It was true; despite his surly demeanor, many girls tended to approach him. He tried to ignore them by forming an aloof persona that only Yamaguchi was unaffected by, but that seemed to encourage them. He did not understand girls, nor did he want anything to do with them. Admittedly, there were some girls whom he tolerated; Shimizu-senpai, for one. She, too, was admired by many, but unlike him, she had mastered the art of ignoring her fans. She was also quite smart and resourceful as their manager.

Not one female could measure up to his expectations. It wasn’t beauty he seeked; he didn’t need a girl with tons of makeup. If he was honest with himself, all he needed someone who could smile and enjoy his snarky attitude. Someone with intelligence, strength, and courage. And, someone who enjoyed volleyball with the same level of enthusiasm as him. Which wasn’t a lot, but it was something they could have in common.

Yamaguchi thought he was being ridiculous-- _ You’ll never find a girl like that, Tsukki! _ \--and his brother thought he was insane-- _ Turning down all those girls! _ \--but Tsukishima was used to being misunderstood. No one would ever meet his expectations, so why bother?

That was why, when Shimizu-senpai brought along a small, trembling first year, Tsukishima quickly glanced over her and deemed her unworthy of attention.  _ She’s everything I don’t like. Timid and weak. But smart,  _ he reluctantly admitted as he detachedly listened to her whisper her name and class.

He wouldn’t go out of his way to avoid her, but he certainly wasn’t going to go out of his way for her. In any case, those two volleyball-obsessed idiots would tell her to stay away from him.

Later that night, as they walked home, Yamaguchi broke the silence and said, “Tsukki?”

“What?”

“The new manager is interesting, eh?”

Tsukishima sneered. “Yes, because you  _ like  _ her.”

Yamaguchi blushed, but shook his head. “Well, yeah. But she’s really nice.”

“A pushover, you mean.”

Yamaguchi frowned. “No, she’s genuinely nice. I think…” he trailed off.

Tsukishima scowled. “What? You know I hate it when you don’t finish your sentences.”

“Sorry!” Yamaguchi nervously looked at Tsukishima. “I think  _ you’d  _ like her, actually.”

Tsukishima snorted. “Yamaguchi, please.”

Yamaguchi shrugged. “Don’t say I didn’t tell you.”

* * *

 

Tsukishima liked to think of himself as an exceedingly capable teen. Always picking and noting his peer’s weaknesses, he knew he was able to understand people to a certain extent.

He was rarely wrong, but he had to admit, he’d underestimated Yachi Hitoka. 

For all of her timid and shy personality, Yachi was surprisingly resilient. She knew nothing about volleyball yet managed to help out the oddball duo (not that helping them was hard in the first place; there was a lot to help them with despite their ridiculous abilities). She was a worthy apprentice; Shimizu-senpai was teaching her all about being a manager, and the intricate rules of volleyball. 

She always gave all of the players towels, water bottles, and a kind word of encouragement. 

She was smart; he knew that, but it wasn’t until he heard her successfully manage to make the oddball duo stop practicing that he realized she was slightly cunning.

Most important of all, she wasn’t afraid of him. She either had no sense of preservation, or she genuinely didn’t see him as a threat. 

He reluctantly respected her, which is why he treated her politely--or as polite as he could get--whenever they bumped into each other. 

“Hey Tsukishima-kun,” she said one afternoon as she handed him a towel.

“Yes?” he said as he dried himself off.

“You’re good at English, right?”

A nagging suspicion began to form. “Why?”

Yachi smiled. “Answering a question with a question. Smart.” Laughing, she continued, “You won’t have to tutor Hinata and Kageyama, if that’s what you’re nervous about.”

“So, what about English?”

“Would you mind helping me review some of the recent lessons we’ve covered? I don’t understand them that well, and I’d prefer to be sure of what I’m teaching Hinata and Kageyama...”

_ Well, it beats tutoring those two directly… _ “Sure.”

Yachi smiled up at him as she took the towel back. “How does tomorrow during lunch sound?”

Tsukishima nodded in confirmation and stepped back into the court. 

* * *

 

“Tsukki, Yacchan said she’d meet you at the library.”

Tsukishima thanked Yamaguchi, and asked, “Are you coming with us?”

Yamaguchi shook his head. “You know my English is terrible. Plus, someone has to keep an eye on Hinata and Kageyama.”

Tsukishima involuntarily scowled at the mention of the oddball duo. “Good luck,” he said as he left the classroom.

Upon entering the library, Tsukishima immediately spotted Yachi sitting in one of the tables near the window. He quietly sat down across from her, and took out his English notes. 

Yachi sat patiently and waited for him to be ready, which is why she saw the letter that fell out of his notebook. 

“Another love note?” she happily chirped. “Well aren’t you popular!” 

_ How could she--Yamaguchi, of course. _ Tsukishima rolled his eyes. “What about you?”

“Me?” she laughed while shaking her head. “No! Never!” 

Getting back on topic, Tsukishima asked, “So, what did you need help with?”

Yachi immediately looked at her textbook and replied, “I just need help reviewing the irregular verbs.”

Tsukishima nodded and took out a pencil. “Do you know the translation of each verb?”

Yachi nodded. “Yes! I memorized most of them, but I probably couldn’t give you the entire list we have to learn by Monday.”

Tsukishima took out his list and handed it over to her. At her questioning look, he explained, “Since our teacher always checks us based on a set of 20, you could try mnemonics.”

Yachi’s eyes brightened in understanding and as she began writing in her notebook as she said, “Thanks! Do you need help with anything?”

Tsukishima hesitated.  _ Well, not really, but… _ “Are you good at math?”

Yachi nodded as she closed her English notebook. “Yes. Do you need help with that?”

“I’m having trouble understanding the trigonometry in the lesson we learned last week.”

Yachi took out a different notebook, and handing it to him, commenting, “Math is currently my best subject, but that’s partly because I study a lot for it.” 

As Tsukishima scrolled through her impressive, color-coded, notes, she explained, “Our teacher sometimes skips steps we should already know when explaining a problem. But that’s confusing, so I always go back and do it step by step. I don’t know if it’ll be helpful, but…”

Upon closer inspection of Yachi’s notes, Tsukishima noticed the different colors she used to change steps and little notes she gave herself about rules and trig identities. He murmured, “Can I borrow this?” 

Yachi nodded as she reopened her English notebook. “Sure. You can use it right now, seeing as I’m using your English notes.”

For the rest of their lunch break, Tsukishima and Yachi began working on their respective subjects, occasionally stopping and asking each other for clarification on a topic. 

When the bell rang, Yachi began picking up her books. “If you want, you can return my math notes after volleyball practice or tomorrow morning.” 

Tsukishima nodded, and decided to take her up on her offer. “Thank you.”

As they headed back to their classes, she looked up at him and said, “This was fun! I’m glad I asked you for help.”

Growing uncomfortable at the unexpected praise, Tsukishima shook his head as he replied, “It was no problem. You helped me too.’’

Yachi waved up at him and threw him a smile. “Well, this is my class. I’ll see you later, Tsukishima-kun!”

As Tsukishima continued walking, he smiled to himself. That wasn’t  _ so  _ bad. 

Heading straight to his desk, Tsukishima put away her notebook and sat down. Coming up to him, Yamaguchi asked, “How’d it go?”

Tsukishima sighed. “Fine.”

“Really?”

Tsukishima reluctantly admitted, “She gave me some advice on math.” 

Yamaguchi brightened. “Really? So she’s nice  _ and  _ smart!”

Tsukishima hmmed. “She is. I can’t believe she tutors those two, though.”

Yamaguchi looked closely upon Tsukishima’s rare compliment, and laughed. “I told you you’d like her!”

“Shut up, Yamaguchi,” he said in resignation. 

Yamaguchi unapologetically replied, “Sorry, Tsukki!” Oh, Tsukishima knew that voice. He  _ definitely  _ wouldn’t hear the end of it now.

He didn’t like her.  _ Not really. _

**Author's Note:**

> Well, I tried my best to keep these characters in-character. I always love hearing your thoughts (I have too few HQ friends). Feel free to comment or visit my tumblr (irishbandlover23)!


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